I'm replacing my T-Top gaskets. I might also replace the headliner pads. Does anyone have feedback on how these liners fit? I replaced the door panels and had problems with the plastic clips. Also is there a separate seal at the front of the tops that seals against the windshield? Thanks
68 Vetteman

 

Hi 68,
I believe in 68 there was a very small hard rubber seal that's part of the stainless steel trim on the front edge of the roof panel.
It sealed against the stainless steel trim on the windshield header when the roof panel was latched down tight.
I'm not sure just what it did except slow down the rain that was being driven under the top.
Regards,
Alan

It's on the left in this picture. It ends about 1" from the end of the front piece of ss trim.

 

Thanks Alan. A previous owner went wild with the silicone. The rubber gasket for the most part is gone. I'll glue a weather strip in that area. Anyone have experience with the replacement T-Top headliners?
68 Vetteman

 

If you buy aftermarket headliners, be prepared for them to not fit so well.

As we are fortunate to have all these parts available for our car, some tend to not fit so well.

New Interior trim tends to require some massaging to get it's proper shape. Have patience, and in the end, it should work out to your satisfaction.

 

The assembly instruction manual (AIM) will help with your new weatherstripping and the t-top trim panels. It shows the factory installation of each.

 

Vetteman.. Some 68's came with a T-top weatherstrip that was almost like a whip. It had the hard side over your head and then wrapped around the roof panel and tucked under the end. Then there were the two piece design tops which actually had a over the head portion and another part that went around the top.

Currently the only way the correct weatherstrips are available is to purchase them in the two piece design.

The 70-77 style can be used as a replacement as well.

68 weatherstrips.
http://willcoxcorvette.com/advanced_...rstrip%20T-Top

As far as installing.. the best advice I can give you is the adjust the weatherstrip over your head... mark it.. and then glue in place. This weatherstrip has in and out adjustment to it so make sure it is where it needs to be before you glue. Oh.. make sure you clean any weatherstrip before you install it. (mold release and glue not a good combo).

Willcox

 

Thanks Wilcox. I'm actually installing the complete weather strip kit I bought from you last year. I'm a little behind on my projects!!
68 Vetteman

 

I have a ’78, which has a slightly different weatherstrip configuration to the 68, but a few things I made a note of when I replaced them a couple of years ago:

Make sure you lay the tops on something very soft, so as not to scratch them to ruins while you work!

Be sure to use a good adhesive remover (3M?) to clean the t tops completely.

Use the correct adhesive (again, 3M?) to install.

In a perfect world, have a helper hold the rubber and “feed” it to you as you stick it down.

I think there may be plastic peg like clips on the 68? Try and get most of the adhesive on the those surfaces where the pins are, so that the strip will, in effect, slid into the position when the pegs are in place. You don’t really need the the surface between rubber and the underside of the roof to be glued that well.

Do not glue the section of the door window, as you’ll need to adjust that to fit window and windscreen pillar.

I lightly taped (masking tape) the centre sections of the weather strip down, so that I knew they would lay correctly when I put the tops on. I found that the old strips had been “turned under” when the tops were fitted, and that seems to have caused the car to leak. Since I did the rubbers it no longer does. After a couple of days I removed the tops and the tape and the rubber now sits as it should when I put the roofs back on.

The tope will be hard to re-fit with the new rubbers (well, mine were!), so be patient! I actually needed to bed mine in over a day or so!

A “fun” little job!

 

Hi Guys,and/or Gals. Next weekend I'm going to attempt to replace my T-Top weatherstripping. I appreciate the tip from Stephen Irons , about the tape, good idea. I need your advice as to the removal of old weatherstripping without doing too much damage.
Thanks in advance, Mike.

 

Mike

I couldn't use the 3M adhesive remover, (Issues with shipping by air from the US to France!) but I'm told it works a lot better than what I used!

The trick is, I think, to be patient and let the remover do the work. Let it get at the old adhesive and then gently work at pulling the old rubbers away. Use a little more remover to clean up. I needed a blade to “tidy up”, I think I ended up using one of those paint scraper things with a Stanley blade in them!

But, I was surprised at how tough the T top was, so no damage apart from a little scraping of the paint.

My tops did NOT look as smart as Alan 71’s though!

 

Bingo. The rest of it is grunt work cleaning up where the old stripping was glued.

Sun, 74 degrees, no humidity, and a six pack are also helpful.

 

The six pack is an excellent idea.